Many Happy Returns
by Rangergirl3
Summary: The latest installment of the 'Lost Paladins' series. Ya'll knew this fic was coming. Happy New Year. :-)
1. Sky

The rain was cold.

Well, most everything on this planet was cold. The mines, the cells, even the food. The Galra left all worlds like this in the end - cold, barren, devoid of life. They'd just move on to the next planet, and make their prisoners do the same work all over again, mining all of the resources until there was nothing left.

Matt Holt shivered as he waited in line with other prisoners. He didn't know how long he'd been a prisoner of the Galra Empire. His dad had tried to keep track at first, but it wasn't like the Galra gave their prisoners calendars or star charts or anything like that. No, it was just work and sleep and roll call and then work again.

Well, it was better than the arena, or the Druid's ship.

Matt's leg hurt, and as he moved forward again in line, he shifted his posture so that his good leg carried most of his weight. The old injury ached whenever it was cold, and that usually meant Matt limped more on days like this.

Matt heard the locks click open on the gate, and as the line moved forward again, he chanced a quick look up at the sky, wishing he could see the stars. Sometimes, if you looked _really_ hard, you could make them out, shining dim and faint and far away in the sky - but it all depended which shift you worked. He didn't see any stars today. Just rain, and grey sky, and faint mist that blanketed the barren land around them. If Matt hadn't been a prisoner, he might have found the sight beautiful, in a melancholy sort of way.

"Well, at least my name's not Zack Fair," he muttered to himself. No one laughed at his joke - he wasn't surprised - and he sighed, deciding it had been funny all the same.

 _No one appreciates my sense of humor,_ he thought, and he smiled wryly to himself at the next thought that crossed his mind. _Katie would, though - she knows I'm freaking_ ** _hilarious_** _when I want to be -_

Ahead of him, one of the other prisoners tripped on the uneven ground and almost went sprawling to one side. Matt moved quickly, grabbing hold of the alien's arm and pulling him back into line just in time. The Galra guards didn't give a warning before they shot, and anything that could even remotely be called an escape attempt was brutally put down.

"Thanks," the alien muttered as they moved forward again.

"Don't mention it," Matt said in reply. "Just - uh - watch your step next ti-"

"Hey! No talking!" one of the guards yelled over at them, and both the prisoners went silent. Matt made sure to walk as normally as possible as he passed by the guards on his way down into the tunnels. It wasn't a good idea to look weak in front of those guys if you could help it.

He went into his cell and sat down on his bunk, rubbing at the old injury on his leg. He didn't think it had healed quite right - but it wasn't like the Galra wasted any substantial medical care on the weak prisoners sent to the work camps. You were supposed to be grateful to be breathing, and that was about it. Matt snorted to himself. Typical Galra Empire crap, thinking disabilities were something that made a person less 'worthy' of additional help or aid.

The Galra Empire only valued strength, and they used whatever means possible to weed out weakness. Arena fights were one way to do that, and if you couldn't fight, they made you work.

Matt thought back to the moment when Shiro had taken his place in the arena. Matt had been convinced Shiro wanted to kill him, and he'd been absolutely terrified. But then - right before he'd been shoved out to face Myzax - Shiro had told Matt to take care of his father, and Matt had realized his friend hadn't wanted to kill him at all. He'd wanted to save him. He'd taken Matt's place, and now Shiro was…

Matt didn't know if his friend had actually died in the arena, or been brainwashed into serving Zarkon as an elite black ops solider. To be honest, he wasn't sure which would be worse. If Shiro was dead, there was nothing the Galra could do to hurt him anymore. But if he was alive and under Haggar's power - if he was being used as a weapon -

Matt heard familiar footsteps coming down the hallway towards his cell, and with an effort, Matt forced himself to concentrate on the present.

He was alive. His father was alive. They had made it through another day, and he'd seen the sky. No stars, no sun, but still - he'd seen the _sky_.

It wasn't much of an anchor for hope, but it was something. It was something the Galra couldn't take away, no matter how long he was their captive. Matt Holt clenched his fists and focused on that image - the cold, the mist, the rain, the way the sky reminded him of Earth, of family, of home, of all that he wanted to protect.

Strength came in many forms, and the witch had been a fool to think that Matthew Holt wasn't strong.

He wouldn't give up. He would _never_ give up. He would _survive_ , and he would make it out of here, with his father, and they would get back home. He would see his sister again, and his mother, and if he could find _any_ way to do it, he was going to find Shiro and bring him back home too.

He was Matthew Holt, and he was _not_ going to give up. He was going to do _everything_ in his power to get back home and find his friend.


	2. News

Once Sam Holt entered the cell, the guards locked the cell doors tight shut, just like they always did. Matt saw that Sam seemed exhausted, and he made to stand up, to offer the lower bunk to his father, but Sam waved his hand in a 'no, no, it's all right' gesture and came and sat down next to his son.

"How's your leg?" Sam asked. His son shrugged and looked down at the ground for a moment before answering.

"I'll live," Matt said, but Sam saw how Matt's fingers were clenched into a fist by his side, and he knew that Matt trying to hide the pain his injury caused him.

"…it's Shiro, isn't it?" Sam asked, and Matt nodded once, abruptly.

"Whenever - whenever my leg hurts, I remember what he did for me - for us," he said. "Dad - we _have_ to find out what happened to him - we _have_ to-"

Sam nodded, looking back over at the door of their cell. It was thick and solid, but he lowered his voice all the same. They rarely spoke to each other above a whisper, even when they were alone in the cell they shared.

"I heard some of the other scientists talking today. It seems that there was an experiment that failed - the name 'Champion' came up - but they didn't say much about it. I got the impression that whatever had gone wrong had been - completely unexpected - and - and - "

Matt sat up, ramrod straight. Any news was better than none - but the thought of his friend dead - or worse -

Matt didn't want to think about what kind of hell Haggar was putting Shiro through.

 _Or - had -_

 _No_ , he told himself fiercely. _No, don't assume the worst. Don't do that, Matt._ _That's not going to help anyone. Not Shiro, not you, and not your dad. Come on._

Sam's voice was shaking, but he kept speaking. "Matt - I don't think it was recent news - and it was only a - a rumor - but - but it sounded like - "

Matt felt his shoulders tighten. "Do you think - maybe he - he got - away?"

Sam's shoulders slumped, and he shook his head. "I don't know. It sounded - it sounded bad, Matt. I think - I think it's possible that - "

Matt shook his head stubbornly, almost fiercely. "No - _no -_ "

Sam's voice was low, but it was gentle. "Matt - I'm not saying - that we should - give up - on Shiro - for all we know, he _is_ still alive - but - but I don't - want you - to - to - "

Matt's temper, frayed already, almost snapped then. "You don't want me to _what_ , Dad?! Blame myself? You know I do - _every_ _**day**_! If Shiro is dead - or - or - hurt - then it's my fault - _it's my fault_ \- "

Samuel Holt shook his head, when he spoke, his voice was gentle, but iron strong.

" _No_ , Matthew, it is _not_ your fault. _None_ of it is. It's the Galra Empire, and their cruelty - and _only_ that. What happened to Shiro is _not_ your fault. You _cannot_ blame yourself. You will go mad if you do-"

Before he realized what he was doing, Matt had gotten to his feet and was pacing the room, swearing under his breath at his leg, at the pain it caused him, at the desperation and fear he felt at the thought of his friend - of his friend -

" _So what_ _ **can**_ _I do_?!" he asked his father, frustration causing his voice to come out louder than he meant it to. He knew this news wasn't his father's fault - his dad only worked in the data labs and tried to glean information as he could.

Samuel Holt opened his mouth to answer, but at that moment, an alarm began to blare in the hallways, and they heard soldiers begin to run past their door. Matt stopped pacing to listen.

"What's going on?" he asked.

Sam shook his head. "I don't know - maybe - maybe an accident in the mines?"

Matt came back to stand by his father, both of them listening hard to the voices coming over the intercoms.

"I - don't think so - " Matt said. "I - I didn't notice anything down there that could cause a reaction like this - not from the soliders, anyway - so what - "

There was a hiss, and a buzz, and then a new voice, a different voice, was speaking.

"- I _swear_ , these Galra systems - these comms are -"

Static cut out the sound for a second, but Matt _knew_ that voice. He knew it as well as his own. Matt saw his father turn to look back at him, his eyes wide in startled wonder and something resembling bewildered joy.

"Is - is - that - " he said, but Matt waved his hand frantically, gesturing for his father to _listen_.

Then the static died away, and another voice, one Matt dimly remembered, spoke.

"-yeah, Pidge, we know, we _know_ , you're a _goddess_ at hacking - but can they hear us now or not?"

Katie - or Pidge - that had - had been her nickname as a kid - spoke again, and her voice was that endearing mix of annoyed and preoccupied that Matt remembered so well.

"-quit _freaking_ out, Pyro - "

The other voice sounded again, and it was terse, but there was something else in it that was hard to pin down. Exasperated affection, maybe? Like this was an argument they'd had multiple times? Matt knew what that was like. Katie _was_ his younger sister, after all. It kind of came with the territory of 'siblinghood'.

"-I am _not_ freaking out - I'm just - _concerned_ \- "

Sam suddenly remembered who the other voice belonged to, and he took in a sharp gasp of air in surprise and complete bewilderment.

Keith. Keith Kogane. That was Kenneth and Mae's son - Shiro's adopted younger brother.

What were Katie and Keith doing out here in Galra space?

Then Katie spoke again, and her tone was quick, decisive, confident.

"- and - done! Okay, they can hear us now. Iroh, you want to take it away?"

Sam and Matt looked at each other, confusion written on both their faces.

"Am I crazy…" Matt asked slowly, "…or is that…uh…"

He gave up, spread his hands wide in an expressive gesture that was half-shrug, half bewilderment. "I'm all _kinds_ of confused right now-"

Then another voice came over the comms, and at the sound, Matt half-fell, half-leaned against the wall in shock. Sam's face went white as paper, because he thought he'd never hear that voice again.

"Attention all prisoners. This is the Black Paladin of Voltron. The mining planet you are on is unstable - the Galra soldiers guarding you have fled the planet. Stand by and prepare for transport - we're getting you out of there-"

"OhmyGod - _Shiro_?!" Matt cried, and Sam lurched to his feet in turn, his face pale, his eyes wide.

"The comms - they're only one-way, Matt - he can't - he can't hear you - "

But Matt wasn't really listening anymore. Heedless of his bad leg, he went as fast as he could to the door of the cell and tried to open it, banging on it uselessly. The only thing he could think of was trying to make his friend hear him.

"SHIRO!" he screamed, but then he felt an odd sensation, and looked down to see white motes of light starting to flicker all over his body. He stumbled back in shock, and felt his father reach out to grab his arm.


	3. Reunion

There was a flicker, a flash of light, a sensation of floating, and then Matt found himself standing next to his father in what seemed to be a giant room, with white floors and blue lighting everywhere. It was so different from what Matt was used to that he almost felt dizzy, but he looked around and saw that there were a lot of his fellow prisoners in the same room. One of them was the tall alien Matt had helped earlier. The alien saw Matt looking at him and came over to stand beside the two humans.

"What's going on?" Matt asked him, and the alien shrugged as he replied.

"I'm - I'm not sure - but - but I heard them say 'Voltron' - and - well - anywhere has to be better than that Galra planet, right? Especially given some of those readings we took in the mines earlier - the seismic activity was getting dangerously high - "

Sam looked around at the all the people in the room, trying to count them, trying to gather information about where they were, and who - who might be -

Matt was staying close to his father, but he was looking wildly around. The alien noticed their reactions and tilted its head to one side curiously.

"Do you know where we are? Or who was speaking over the-"

But Matt had seen someone enter the room, and he pulled his father's sleeve, pointing, shouting, beginning to stumble towards her, helping his father along as he screamed his sister's name at the top of his lungs.

" **KATIE**!"

She turned at the sound of her name, and Matt knew - he knew it was his sister. Her hair was shorter, and she wore some kind of green armor and carried a helmet under her arm, but it was her.

Please-let-her-recognize-us-please-let-her-recognize-us-

Katie saw them making their way towards her, and she dropped her helmet onto the ground as she lunged forwards, sprinting and dodging through the crowd of prisoners, who made way for her.

" **DAD**! **MATT**!"

Then she'd tackled them both in a hug, and Matt didn't really notice anything else at all, because somehow, this was his younger sister, and Matt decided that if he had - for some reason - lost his mind, or died, that it was okay. It was okay as long as he didn't wake up, because he damn well wasn't going to lose her again.

It was some time before Matt remembered to ask how the hell she'd ended up in Galra space, and then Dad was asking where Shiro was, and Katie was pointing back behind her and saying something about 'teleport' and 'whole team is going to FREAK' and that it would only be a short time and then she'd explain everything but right now she had to go - go and -

"Form - Voltron?" Sam asked, still holding his daughter close in a hug. "…I'm not sure I understand - "

Katie was scrubbing at her face, but she was still smiling. "It's - one hell of a long story - but I promise, it's worth it. It's all worth it."

She hugged them both one more time. The alien Matt had helped earlier that day held out her helmet to her. The other prisoners had drawn back a little, giving the three of them space, and Katie grinned up at the alien as she took her helmet back.

"Thanks!" she said, and she put her helmet back on as she spoke. "Dad, Matt, I promise, it's all good. I'll be back soon - this won't take long - we're just taking some precautions as we travel - 'cause apparently the Galra could really pissy about us rescuing prisoners from drained planets - but anyway, I won't be long - I promise - "

Matt and Sam were still holding onto her, unwilling to release her from their family hug, but she somehow slipped free and bolted back out the door, calling back over her shoulder

"You're safe now! You're with the Alteans - Coran will explain everything!"

Then she was gone, and Matt realized that he hadn't asked her how she knew what had happened to Shiro. Matt knew he'd heard his friend's voice over the comms - and - and that word - Voltron - Shiro had said he was the - Black Paladin?

This was a lot to take in. Matt realized he needed to sit down before his bad leg gave out, and his father helped him do just that. Then some guy in a blue uniform came into the room and started speaking to them all.

"Greetings!" he beamed at them all, twirling a red mustache in a cheerful manner. "I am Coran, of the planet Altea. We're here to offer you any assistance we can - medical care, provisions, and for those who wish it, a shuttle to get you home. I know you must all have a lot of questions, but I assure you, I will answer them all just as soon as - "

There was a stutter of static over what sounded like a loudspeaker system, and a woman spoke, her voice even, commanding, like a captain of a ship.

"Coran, I need you on the bridge, please - Aurelis is coming down to help explain the situation -"

The man nodded, turned, and spoke to another person who had just come into the room. The new arrival had blue skin and red eyes - Matt thought wearily that he was gong to need a notebook to start keeping track of who was who. The alien he'd helped earlier was still standing nearby, staring after Katie in a wide-eyed manner, and Matt decided he might as well ask this guy's name. The poor guy just looked so lost. Matt could sympathize. It had been a crazy day.

"Hi - there - uh - I'm Matthew Holt," he said, raising his hand. The alien took it and shook it firmly, if a bit awkwardly.

"Ah, yes. Greetings. I am Garmek. How do you know the Green Paladin, Matthew Holt?"

Matt blinked, realized that Katie had been wearing green armor. Oh. Well. At least the name made sense.

But what was a Paladin?

"She's - family," he said, and he looked back up at his father. "Hey, Dad - do you have any idea what's going on?"

A voice sounded from the wall near Matt's right side, about six feet from the ground. It was coming from an air vent, which had a small safety grate over it.

"Hi there!"

All three of them jumped and turned towards the sound. In the air vent, Matt saw a young - girl, about five years old, who also had blue skin and red eyes. Her long sliver-white hair was pulled back into a braid, and she was lying on her stomach, her hands cupping her chin. She was looking down at them all curiously, waving her legs behind her like she was at a hilltop picnic, watching a game unfold in a field down below. Two mice were perched on her shoulders, and two more were on her head.

Matt heard Garmek let out a slightly confused sound. "…what is she doing up there?" he asked, and Matt looked at back him with one eyebrow raised.

"Garmek, I just got beamed up to a spaceship without any kind of warning. I have no freaking idea why there's a kid in that air vent."

Garmek made a sound that might have been a chuckle. "Fair enough," he said.

Sam just stared up at the air vent, flummoxed. Some of the other prisoners had noticed the girl now, and she waved cheerfully at them too. She seemed so genuinely friendly that Matt felt some of the tension leave his shoulders. She looked and sounded - well, she sounded a lot like a normal little girl.

"I'm Beyris!" she said, and she pointed to the mice in turn as she introduced them. "These are the Princess's mice, but they're my friends too. Lance calls them Squee, Squeak, Squeaker, and Squeaken. It makes Hunk laugh, but I don't know why. I think it's from a movie or something."

She twirled the end of her braid as she looked back at them. "I don't think I've seen that one yet - but I have seen a lot of movies with everybody - it's what we do sometimes, after training and practice - oh! Maybe we could watch one tonight! Would you maybe like to watch a movie?"

Matt was glad he was sitting down. This alien kid was confusing him.

"…movies…" he said, and she nodded vigorously, then tilted her head slightly to one side as she spoke, her eyes wide and earnest.

"Oh, yes - but only if you want to. You don't have to do anything you don't want to anymore. The Princess is nothing like those mean Galra - and neither is Shiro - or my uncle - so none of you need to worry at all anymore - "

Beyris took a breath, wrinkled her brow in thought for a moment, and then she shrugged her shoulders in a 'no problem' manner. She did it carefully so she didn't dislodge the mice from their perches. "Well, if you don't want to see a movie, we can find something else that's fun if you like - maybe cook? Or read a book? Or play a game? Whenever we play a game, Keith is always red, and I'm always pink. I like pink. Pidge says it's a cheerful color, and that it fits me well, but I don't know how a color can fit you unless you're wearing it, you know?"

Matt's head was spinning, but it was in a nice way. This wasn't the ache and pounding that came after having orders shouted at you, but more of a background hum that came from something as simple as a little girl talking about her favorite color.

All the former prisoners in the room had gone quiet now, looking and listening to Beyris. She continued speaking, addressing Matt and Sam, her eyes wide with interest.

"Why did you call Pidge Katie?" she asked, genuine interest in her voice. "We usually just call her Pidge - except Shiro - sometimes he calls her Katie - oh! Are you like Shiro?"

Matt couldn't find his voice in time to answer her before she continued.

"Shiro's amazing - everyone calls him Space Dad. I'm not sure why - but I like him. He's so nice. The Princess likes him too. I saw them holding hands once. I think they like each other - but you know. The special kind of 'like'. "

Sam sat down next to Matt. He seemed to be keeping up with Beyris' chatter. Maybe it came from being a dad. Matt wasn't sure.

"…okay…" Sam said. "Uh - so Shiro's dating - a Princess - now?"

Beyris nodded happily. "It's awesome - the Black Paladin and the Princess - I'm drawing a picture for them. Lance found some crayons for me - right before he had to go train with Hunk in the practice room - but it's okay. Even though we're all very busy, I have a lot of fun here, and I'm learning a lot. Everyone's really nice. Allura - that's the Princess - says we're going to help everyone in the universe that we can, one person at a time."

"Sounds like a good plan," Garmek said, and Beyris nodded again, smiling. "That's what the Paladins of Voltron are all about - and my uncle and I and Aurelis are helping them too!"

She had the full attention of almost everyone in the room now. All of the freed prisoners were listening with rapt attention, but the blue-skinned man was engrossed in a chart and seemed to be muttering calculations under his breath.

"…hmm…" Sam heard him say. "…yes…all right…I think that would work well…we should have enough fuel for those shuttles…mmhmm…yes, that should do nicely - and of course we'll need to rotate the healing pods - but I think we have some spare ones in that other wing - mmmhm-"

Beyris pointed over at him and then back at herself. She puffed out her chest proudly before she spoke again. "That's Aurelis. He's a healer. We're helping our al-i-s fight the Galra. Well, the bad Galra. There's a Galra resistance. I think. We haven't met them yet, but we want to."

The mice on her shoulders squeaked in what seemed to be a slight reprimand, and she looked down at them, nodding earnestly.

"Well, of course their eyed-en-ti-ties have to stay secret - Haggar is so mean and she hates it when good people fight her - she must hate a lot of people - I know she hates Shiro - I mean, she hates pretty much everybody - but wow - she was mad when he wouldn't be her Champion-"

Matt and Sam looked at each other, then back at Beyris, who was still beaming down at them.

"….uh…" Matt said, feeling his throat go tight with an emotion he couldn't quite name. "…what?"

Beyris waved her hands around her head expressively. "That witch is always mad - but wow -"

It was then that the blue-skinned man - Beyris had called him Aurelis - looked up and face palmed himself as he realized what all the rescued prisoners were staring at.

"Oh, I'm dead," he said to himself. "I am so very, very dead. I am officially the worst babysitter in the world - I can't keep the five-year old away from the air vents for two tics - oh, Rayzor is going to kill me -"

The girl chuckled down at the man, waving cheerfully. "Don't worry, Aurelis, I'm just saying hi! I wanted to see the new people when they came, but you told me to stay out from underfoot. So I did - I took my special shortcut!" She pointed proudly at her air vent. "See? I can't get under anyone's feet up here!" She grinned down at him, obviously quite pleased at how she'd been able to obey his order and meet the new people at the same time.

Sam heard someone let out a laugh that was rusty from disuse, and he realized it was his own. Some of the other freed prisoners were chuckling too. Even Matt half-smiled as the blue-skinned man bustled forward.

"Excuse me, pardon me, pardon me, excuse me, please," he said, threading his way through the people, and Matt blinked when he realized that the man was being polite. Wow, that was different from what they were used to.

Aurelis finally came to stand underneath the grate, looking directly up at the still-cheerfully beaming girl, the mice chittering and chattering in amusement at his expression. He put his hands on his hips, and his face was serious as he looked up at her.

"Beyris," he said, "Some of these people are sick, or hurt, and I have to help them. Can you please come down from there - carefully - so I can concentrate on doing that?"

He raised his arms. "I'll help you down - just - be careful, all right?"

The safety grate over the air vent prevented her from climbing directly out and into the room, but she was still clearly visible as she nodded vigorously.

"Sure!" she said, and she scooted to one side a little ways, carefully putting the mice down before she maneuvered past the grate. Aurelis helped her down, and once he set her on the ground, Beyris beamed up at him as the mice jumped onto his shoulders.

He jumped in shock, looking down at them in startled confusion, but they scampered down his arms and back onto Beyris' shoulders before he had time to ask what they were doing.

"All right, then," the healer said, "Beyris - how about you go to the kitchen - and - and get some plates out? I'm sure our guests are hungry-"

"I'll get out ALL the plates!" she promised, and scampered out of the room. She poked her head back and called, "Don't worry - I'll be careful!" before she vanished out the door for a second time.

Sam felt a pang of humorous sympathy as Aurelis muttered darkly to himself under his breath that 'yes, well, you've said that before - sweet stars above - Arris, your child will be the death of me one day- "

But then the healer turned back to the room, and he seemed to take on air of command at the sight of them all, now that Beyris was off and out of the way.

"As - well - as Beyris told you, I am a healer, and we have healing pods and medical treatment," he said. "It may take some time, but I intend to make sure you all receive help in any way possible."

He clapped his hands together briskly, and Matt thought that it was a very human gesture.

"Right!" he said briskly. "Let's get started."


	4. Roll Call

Coran activated his personal comms as he hurried towards the castle's main flight deck.

"Okay," he heard Shiro say over the comms as they all headed towards their Lion's bays. "Sound off once you're ready to fly -"

"Red Leader, standing by."

"Gold Leader, standing by."

"Blue Leader, standing by."

Pidge's voice cut in then, not really annoyed, but slightly frustrated all the same at her code name.

"Argh - I mean - I _liked_ Green Leader - but - OH! OH! Guys - I can be Rogue One!"

There was a brief pause, but Shiro sounded genuinely amused and impressed when he answered.

"You know what - that actually works. Let's do that."

Now that he was on the bridge with Allura, Coran could see the visual screens with the Paladins, and he saw the Green Paladin grin as she got into her pilot's chair.

"Rogue One, standing by!" she said, beaming, and Coran saw Shiro laugh to himself as he sounded off.

"General Iroh, standing by."

The code names over the comms as they went into battle had been the team's idea - but Coran thought that it was entirely possible that they had just really, _really_ wanted to get in a few more Star Wars references. Well, that and that other show.

Over the comms, he could still hear the Paladins whooping with excitement as their Lions left their bays.

"YEAH!"

"WHOOO!"

"LET'S GO!"

"IIIIIIII AAAAAAAMMMMMMM GGGGGGGGRRRRRROOOOOOOOTTTTT!

"Okay, team - FORM VOLTRON!"

Coran watched them form Voltron, and as the Defender of the Universe took shape, he looked back over towards Allura. The Princess was scanning the nearby star systems for any incoming Galra ships, and Rayzor was at the navigation console, making sure their flight pattern could adjust for any unexpected obstacles.

It wasn't going to be easy, freeing prisoners and fighting the Galra Empire.

But Coran thought they were off to a very good start.


	5. Bonus Scene: After

As the Paladins disbanded the Lions and headed back into the Castle, Keith heard Pidge saying something in a high, excited, garbled sort of tone that brought all other conversation to a complete halt.

"GUYS! GUYS, I FOUND MY FAMILY!"

Lance's whoop of sheer joy at the news echoed in all their headsets, and he immediately began thinking out loud, the way he always did when he was happy or excited.

"Pidge! Pidge, that's AWESOME! I can help you find them some Altean clothes - Coran was showing me around the Castle the other day - and oh, yeah, that's right, we should make sure they have rooms close to you, Pidge - you're _totally_ going to want to spend time with them - "

Hunk had shouted out in happiness as well, and Shiro heard Keith join in too, asking if Matt and Sam were okay, if they needed to get to the healing pods or-

Pidge's voice was still happy, excited, more alive then it had been since Shiro could remember as she responded. "It's - it's fine - I think they still might need to spend some time in them - at some point - just to be safe - but Shiro - Shiro, I know they want to see you first -"

After that, Pidge's voice went on, still excited, still vibrantly chattering away over the comms, saying something about finding Matt and Sam in the crowd of rescued prisoners right before she'd come and formed Voltron with the team, but Shiro couldn't say anything. He wanted to, but the words wouldn't come.

As he landed Black in her bay and got to his feet, he could still hear the other Paladins over his comms, but he didn't have the breath to join in their happy chatter, because he had already begun to run.

Keith seemed to understand what Shiro was doing.

"It's good, Shiro," he said. "You go ahead - we're on our way - we'll meet you there -"

The others chimed in with excited agreement, but at that point, Shiro couldn't hear the words.

He was already out of Black's bay, running at a full sprint down the corridor, and everything else just - faded away. Every thought, every fiber of his being was concentrated on the fact that Matt and Sam were here, in the Castle, they were _here_ , and _they had wanted to see him_.

* * *

Coran saw Shiro come sprinting down the hallway, and Shiro was glad the Altean counselor guessed what he wanted to know, because Shiro wouldn't have been able to say anything at that point, because his heart was pounding far too loudly in his ears, and he knew that he wouldn't have been able to speak even if he'd had breath to spare for the words.

"They're still in the transporter room with the other prisoners we rescued - second door on the right," Coran said, and Shiro didn't even slow down as he turned the corner at a full on sprint. Just as he came within reach of the door, it began to hiss open, and it was only then that Shiro realized that he had _no_ idea what to say to either Matt or Sam.

Hell with it.

He'd improvise.

Even as the door finished opening and Shiro charged through it, he looked wildly around the room for the two people he'd thought he might never see again.

Aurelis was standing near the now-open door, speaking to the newly-freed prisoners, apparently summing up how he'd come to be on the Castle with the Paladins of Voltron.

"Oh - and here is one of our Paladins now -" Aurelis said, turning to greet Shiro with a smile. "Everyone, this is - "

Shiro was still scanning the room quickly, impatiently, trying to see where Matt and Sam were. Could they be in the back of the room, maybe, sitting down?

Then he realized he still had his Black Paladin's helmet on.

" _Dammit_ ," he said, reaching up with both hands and ripping off the helmet without any ceremony or delay whatsoever. As he pulled it off, he heard a few startled squauks on the other end of the comms, and he almost laughed at the sheer craziness of it all. Lance was going to give him flak about swearing for _days_ -

"…Shiro…?"

 _Sam_. _That was Sam's voice._

Shiro looked up to see that Samuel Holt was standing right behind Aurelis, directly beside the transporter device that Rayzor had installed earlier that week. He'd obviously been examining the screens and controls, but now his eyes were huge in astonishment, and they were fixed onto Shiro's face in something resembling shock, but also not quite full recognition.

In that instant, all words, all reactions, all Garrison protocol, completely vanished from Shiro's mind. He found himself frozen to the spot. He didn't know what to say, or what to do.

He suddenly realized how different he must look to Sam. It had been - how long _had_ it been? At least a full year - since -

" _ **SHIRO**_!"

Matt's cry of absolute joy drove all other thoughts from Shiro's mind, and he turned just in time to see his friend tackle him in a hug that almost sent them both to the ground.

"Ohmygod - Shiro - you're alive - how the _**fuck**_ are you alive - "

Shiro didn't know if he was laughing or crying when he tried to reply.

"Uh - " was all he managed before Sam had stumbled forwards and grabbed both him and Matt into a huge hug, and they just stayed that way for awhile.

Distantly, Shiro heard the door open again behind him, and Lance give a whoop of joy at the sight.

"Wow, Katie! You _do_ look just like your brother!"

Shiro turned his head just in time to see Hunk and Keith move to one side, and then Pidge had pushed forward and tackled her father around his middle in another embrace that sent him staggering into Shiro again, and all four of them almost went to the ground again in a sprawl.

Out of instinct, Shiro reached out with his right arm and braced himself against the nearest wall to make sure no one went flying. Pidge was emitting squeaks of sheer delight and keeping her arms firmly wrapped around her dad, who hugged her back just as enthusiastically. Matt had moved his hands so now they clutched Shiro's shoulders, and he still seemed almost dazed with both delight and excitement.

"No, _really_ , man," Matt was still asking, and he tried to shake Shiro to get his attention again, "How the _actual_ _**fuck**_ are you still breathing after everything that's happened?!"

Sam and Pidge looked up at Shiro then too, and Shiro found that he really didn't know, after all, so he tried to make a joke.

"Uh - " he said, but he saw Matt's face go white, and then Matt was staring where Shiro's right hand was pressed up against the wall.

Shiro didn't know why he was doing that.

 _What was wrong?_

"…Shiro…" Matt said, and his face almost looked like that of a ghost. "…what…did they…"

Shiro realized his cybernetic arm was glowing faintly, and when he drew his hand away from the wall, there was a hand-shaped impression in the metal, still glowing from the heat of his weaponized hand. He felt his throat close up, and he fervently wished he hadn't powered up his weaponized arm out of instinct.

"Uh - I - it - was - uh - " he said, and only realized he was stammering when Sam looked down at Pidge, and then up at Shiro again, his usually kind face settling into an expression that was both sad and knowing.

"Was it - the witch?" Sam said, his voice low, but not at all accusatory.

Shiro found he didn't have any words, so he just nodded. Matt hadn't moved away from Shiro at all, but Katie saw her brother grind his jaw as he asked the question, now looking directly into Shiro's face.

"…it was…one of her dumb _experiments…_ wasn't it…oh, God, _Shiro_ …"

Out of habit, Shiro tried to downplay it. He didn't want Matt to feel guilty - or Sam to look at him like that -

"It's not - uh - so bad - " he said, and with an effort of will, he forced his cybernetic arm to stop glowing, to power down completely, to _not_ be a weapon, to _not_ ruin this reunion.

He realized that the other freed prisoners were staring at them now, and he felt a sudden, irrational embarrassment about his arm.

 _His Druid-given, cyborg, prosthetic arm._

Shiro tore his eyes away from his right hand and glanced back up at Sam, but Sam didn't seem to be - afraid of him - which was good - and Matt didn't, either -

 _Distract,_ his mind screamed, _distract-deflect-distract-deflect-it's-not-a-big-deal-not-now-not-now-not-anymore-just-have-to-live-with-it-come-on-come-on-come-on-don't-ruin-this-for-Katie-_

"…Shiro…" Matt's voice was quiet, but Shiro saw his friend seemed on the verge of tears. "…I'm sorry…"

The completely out of nowhere apology was like cold water thrown into Shiro's face. It completely took the Black Paladin by surprise, and just for a moment, Shiro forgot all about the awkwardness of his cybernetic arm.

Pidge saw Shiro blink and gave his friend a disbelieving look, with one eyebrow raised, a completely confused expression that was absolutely genuine.

" _For_... _ **what**_?!" he asked, and his question seemed to break some of the tension that had been building, because Sam snorted in soft laughter and Pidge leaned closer and threw her other arm around her brother.

"Matt," she said, and her tone was equal parts comforting and no-nonsense, "don't be _stupid_ , bro. You don't have to be sorry for _anything_ -"

Matt had let his gaze drop to the floor, and he was shaking his head slowly. "-no-Katie - it's - it's my fault - that - that -"

" _Whoa_ , now, Matt," Shiro said, his tone becoming more serious, but still containing a sense of humor. He grabbed Matt's shoulder with his left hand and shook him, gently. "-don't take on blame for something that had _nothing_ to do with you, Matt - trust me - that's just _way_ too much for any one person to handle-"

Matt looked back up at his friend, and his jaw was still clenched tight, his eyes still miserable. "But - you fought in the arena - instead of me - _Shiro -_ you - "

"-had a better chance of living in that hell-hole than anyone else in that cell block did," Shiro said, his voice taking on an iron quality. "Those fights were rigged, and we all knew it - come on, Matt - I'm _serious_ \- it's not your fault - this - "

Shiro jerked his head towards his right arm dismissively, and he thought he saw a fraction of the tension leave Matt's shoulders at the gesture.

"- _this_ \- happened _long_ after you got transferred - and anyway, don't you think that bitch would have done something like this eventually?"

From behind then, Lance let out another surprised squawk, but Shiro heard it only distantly. His entire attention was focused on Matt, who had blinked in apparent surprise at the dismissive way Shiro had just referred to the witch. Shiro continued, intentionally keeping his tone and his words short and honest.

"She's sadistic - and evil - and just - completely obsessed with her experiments - so - just - don't take that blame on yourself, okay? It had _nothing_ to do with you-"

Shiro realized he was in danger of rambling, and he made an effort to just say what he meant, and be done with it.

"-look, I can access Galra tech with it, and - uh - it's been useful. I melded a door shut once - mostly - kind of - it was a busy day - but the point is, I've been able to use it against the Galra, and it's not all bad. So - just - don't beat yourself up about this, okay?"

Matt bit his lip, still seeming unsure. Shiro felt a genuine grin cross his face as he continued.

"-because otherwise, I'll change my code name to Winter Solider - and you _know_ I would do it, too-"

Matt let out a half-hysterical laugh at that, and Shiro saw that his friend was indescribably gladdened by Shiro's ability to make a joke about the entire fucked-up situation.

"You are _such_ an astro-nerd," Matt said, and Shiro snorted.

"You should know it," he said. "I mean, you sort of have to know by now - six months in a three-person spaceship headed for a distant moon _really_ doesn't leave much room for secrets -"

Matt shoved Shiro's shoulder in the way he always had, and then his jaw dropped and his tone became lighter as the tension seemed to drain away, at least for the time being.

"-holy - _**shit**_ -" Matt said, staring at Shiro. "-when did you get this _ripped_ , Shirogane? It's practically - hurting my eyes - _ow_ -"

Shiro felt himself grin and saw that Sam and Pidge were still hugging each other tightly as he snorted again, and then Matt and he started to snark at each other, like they used to on the trip to Kerberos.

"-I have _always_ looked this good - it was just - uh - hidden - under the spacesuit - "

"Oh, _God_ , now I feel _inferior_ \- quick, someone get me a training regimen and a whole bunch of vitamins before I- "

"Did they _always_ do that?" Pidge asked Sam, who nodded. "Almost nonstop."

He smiled as he watched Matt and Shiro interact. "I've missed seeing that."

Keith grinned to himself as he watched Shiro and Matt give each other grief. He hadn't been sure what to expect when Shiro was reunited with the Holts, but it seemed like it was going as well as could be expected. Sam seemed to understand Keith's train of thought and nodded.

"…It's going to take some time to get used to everything that's happened…but I think it'll be all right," he said, glancing over at Matt, who had just thrown a punch at Shiro's left shoulder. Shiro blocked it and just kept talking as if nothing had happened while Matt rolled his eyes.

"- new record on the training deck - "

"-you are _such_ an overachiver, Shirogane-"

"-that's my middle name - Takashi Overachiever Shirogane -"

" _Oh,_ _ **gods**_ _, make it_ _ **stop**_ \- I swear, it's like you just got _nerdier_ \- _how is that even_ _ **possible**_ \- "

Then Matt saw Keith and broke off, his eyes going wide.

" _Keith_?!" he exclaimed in bewildered delight. "What the - how the - _okay_ , is anyone _**else**_ from our class at the Garrison here?!"

Keith came over, a half-smile crossing his face as he did so.

"There shouldn't be," he said, and Matt clapped him on the back of the shoulder and pulled him into an enthusiastic hug of greeting, which Shiro thought Keith bore with relative good grace.

"Okay, _great_ , because otherwise I think I'd have to pass out from the sheer weirdness of today," Matt said, and as he and Keith and Shiro continued to talk, Sam and Pidge turned to face the other two Paladins, with Pidge still hugging her father around the middle and beaming as if Christmas had come early.

"So, Katie," Sam said, looking at Lance and Hunk. "Who are your friends?"

Lance bounded forward, a huge smile on his face, and shook Commander Holt's hand enthusiastically.

"I'm Lance, Lance McClain, sir, and it's an honor to meet you - we're just _so_ glad you're here _-"_

Commander Holt smiled at Lance's genuine happiness and warm welcome. "-likewise, I assure you - but please, don't feel the need to stand on formality - anyone who rescues me from an alien prison can call me Sam."

Lance grinned widely at that, nodding enthusiastically. "Sure, okay - uh — I've just always thought of you as - uh - you know - Pidge's dad - so - um - "

Samuel Holt smiled again at Lance. "It's all right, Lance, you can call me sir if you'd prefer - I don't mind either way - "

Lance snapped to attention, then flushed red as he tried to reply. "Yes, sir! I mean, Sam! I mean…uh…"

Pidge beamed at Lance in a friendly manner as she spoke, and that seemed to put him more at ease.

"Lance, dude, it's okay, you're cool."

Lance brightened at the compliment even as he stepped to one side so Hunk could come forward and meet Mr. Holt.

 _Man_ , he thought, _it's going to take some time to get used to having Pidge's dad here - and her brother_ \- _but it's going to be awesome, all the same._

Lance just felt so happy for them.

He wished his own family could be here with him, too, but he pushed that thought away. Now was not the time to dwell on that loneliness.

Pidge had found her family.

Today was a good day.

And Lance would make it so.

"Come on," he said, after Hunk had been introduced. "I think we should take you both up to the ship's control deck - I just know the Alteans want to meet you, too."


	6. Bonus Scene: Family Can Be Complicated

Samuel Holt's time in the data labs had not been wasted.

He'd made it a priority to learn as much as he could from the files he'd been able to see, and one discovery in particular was of great interest to the team.

Allura's jaw dropped open in bewildered surprise, and Coran had to sit down. Matt looked over at Shiro, and saw that his old friend was blinking in complete astonishment and confusion.

" _ **Really**_?" he asked, looking between Sam and Allura with what could only be described a dazed expression. "Haggar is… _Altean_ …?"

"Part-Altean," Sam corrected him. "It's confusing to me as well - to be honest, I'm not entirely certain how - "

Coran shook his head, and when he spoke, he sounded as if he were remembering something he'd long since put to the back of his mind.

"There…there was a great friendship between our races, once," he said. "It wasn't uncommon for…well, for Alteans and Galrans to have children together - "

Hunk was holding his hands up in front of his face, seemingly to try and calculate something on his fingers.

"Oh, yeah, I mean, humans do that too," he said, almost distractedly, and Coran and Allura looked over at him as he went on, obviously intent on explaining himself.

"I mean, on our planet, we're all the same species, but it's not like we don't have different nations or stuff like that," he said. By his side, Lance nodded and joined in enthusiastically.

"Like Hunk said, we've encountered mixed bloodlines before," he said. "It's actually pretty cool, sometimes, to see where your different ancestors came from - but geez, Haggar being _Altean_?!"

He scratched his neck and looked between Allura and Keith, half-shrugging as he continued. "I have to admit, I did _not_ see that one coming…like, _at all_ …."

Coran was nodding, his eyes slightly distant, as if he were remembering something from a long time ago.

"Sometimes, those of Altean blood would permanently take on the characteristics of their - well - other heritage, either out of preference or pride…so…I suppose…it's entirely possible that Haggar did so at one time…but…"

Allura shuddered, and Pidge put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Well, I guess it could be worse…" Pidge said, looking over at Coran. "I mean, it's not like her being Altean changes who she _is_ , right? That'd just be _stupid-_ "

Coran couldn't hold back a small laugh at that. "Well, I would have used the word foolish - but yes, Pidge, you're right - but it's still - just - very unsettling, to realize…"

Allura finished her old friend's thought. "…to realize her magic is - in a way - similar to my own."

Everyone on the main deck looked at her then. Shiro was the first to speak.

"Allura, your magic is _nothing_ like hers. Trust me. I'd be the first to tell you if it was."

Allura looked over at him and saw that he was half-smiling at her. Something inside her chest seemed to ease, some awful, sick tension that had settled there the instant Sam Holt had told them what he'd learned in the data labs.

"But - " she began, but then Keith spoke up, and she turned to listen to him.

"Haggar being Altean - it doesn't change anything important," he said, and he was looking directly at her and Coran. "It really, _really_ doesn't-"

Pidge's jaw suddenly dropped open, and she began waving her hands around her head wildly.

"HOLY CROW!" she hollered, and Matt jumped in surprise because that shout was _right_ by his ear.

 _Going deaf at a young age because my sister is screaming in my ear,_ he thought, and he felt a genuine smirk cross his face as he watched her dive towards her pilot's station for paper and a pencil.

 _If it means she's here with me, I'll take it._

"-ohmygosh-ohmygosh-OHMYGOSH-" Katie was still saying under her breath as she started to feverishly scribble on the notepad. She muttered to herself for a few more seconds, and then made an excited squealing sound of delight and waved her pencil with such enthusiasm, it flew out of her fingers and sailed across the room, nearly hitting Rayzor in the nose. He reached up and caught it, mid-air, between two of his fingers just in time, and Aurelis had to stifle a snort of laughter at the Council Member's expression of confusion at the Green Paladin's excitement.

"…um….Pidge?" Lance asked, looking at her as if she'd sprouted two heads. "…what's with you…?"

The Green Paladin raced over to Keith, and started jabbering excitedly, pointing to the notepad with such enthusiasm, Shiro thought she might possibly get bruises on her fingertips. Keith's eyes suddenly went as wide as saucers, and he looked at Pidge with a completely flabbergasted expression on his face.

It took the rest of the Paladins all a second to realize what Pidge was telling Keith, but when they did, their reactions were priceless, if also somewhat mysterious to both Sam and Matt Holt.

Shiro's eyebrows shot up so high that they disappeared into his hair, Lance let out a squawk of mixed confusion and delight, and Hunk looked between Keith and the two Alteans as if Christmas had come early.

"…uh…" Matt said, when it became clear Pidge was going to keep chattering away to Keith for the foreseeable future, thereby depriving him and his father of their immediate source of explanation. "…can someone tell us what's going on…?"

From where she lay on the floor, coloring in her drawing of Shiro and Allura holding hands, Beyris looked up and said brightly, "It means Keith is part-Altean, too!"

Rayzor slammed a hand against his forehead almost at the same moment Aurelis did, and Sam and Matt looked askance at each other.

"…you're going to have to back up for a minute," Sam said, and Matt nodded, adding, "You _totally_ lost me."

Shiro looked over at Keith, who returned his look for a moment before nodding slowly.

"….might as well…" the Red Paladin said. He'd leaned against the wall and seemed to be slightly dazed at whatever Pidge was chattering on about. "It's not like it can be any more confusing than it already is…"

Shiro nodded and turned his attention back to Matt and Sam.

"You might want to sit down," he said. "This could take awhile."

* * *

All things considered, the news that Keith was part-alien went rather well.

Both Sam and Matt had many, _many_ questions, and it took some time for the entire story to be told, but with some help from everyone in the room, it was finished soon enough.

Mid-way through the explanation, Keith found himself sitting cross-legged on the ground, in a sort of make-shift giant circle. Shiro sat across from him, next to Sam and Matt, with Coran and Allura on Keith's left side, with Rayzor and Aurelis on his right. Beyris sat a little ways off from Rayzor, with the mice perched on her shoulers. Lance and Hunk sat close to her. All told, the circle was tight, but it didn't feel crowded.

With an effort, Keith drew his attention back to the chart Pidge had drawn and had just placed in the middle of the circle. To one degree or another, everyone was leaning over it to see what she was gesturing at as she spoke.

"Okay," she said, her eyes gleaming with both delight and pride in her work, "I think I've got it down now -"

"…gotten…what down, exactly?" Rayzor asked, and she beamed back at him with good humor as she answered.

"A chart, of course! I mean, it's not going to be _entirely_ accurate, but it should be good enough for a basic understanding of - "

"-Keith's alien bloodline," Matt finished, nodding. Pidge and Keith both looked at him, and he raised his head and blinked at their expressions. "What?" he asked, and he was smirking now. "When you've been in deep space for over a year, you start to just roll with the punches-"

By him, Sam was nodding. "Please, Katie, go on, this is _fascinating_ \- "

Pidge grinned at them all and started pointing to the various parts of the chart as she spoke.

"Okay, so we know that Haggar is at least part-Altean, thanks to my dad's awesome undercover spy work - nice job, Dad - but we _also_ know that she's been part of the Galra Empire for _years_ -"

"Millennia," Shiro interjected. Lance scratched his head as he murmured to himself. "It's so weird, how a thousand years gets called a millennium but it's sounds like it's actually a million years - geez, no wonder I got so confused in school - "

Pidge flicked her pencil at the Blue Paladin, and he broke off, grinning, as she continued. " - _anyway_ \- so at some point, she must have had a kid with some Galra - oh, Dad, do you know if there was ever any record of that happening - you know, like a marriage or birth certificate or anything -"

Suddenly, Keith looked very uneasy. "Oh, _**God**_ ," he said, and he seemed genuinely nervous when he looked over at Sam. "- _ **tell**_ me I'm **not** related to _**Zarkon**_ \- **Haggar's** bad _**enough**_ \- "

Sam shook his head, chuckling, and Keith visibly relaxed as Sam went on to explain.

"No - although there is an heir to the Galra Empire - but I don't know much about him. His name is Prince Lotor - and I assure you, Keith, you're definitely _not_ him. To my knowledge, Haggar and Zarkon were never - uh - an 'item.'"

Keith visibly relaxed. "Okay, so at least my _entire_ extended family on my dad's side doesn't _completely_ suck _ **-**_ " he said, mostly to himself, and then Shiro reached across the circle and whacked him affectionately upside the head.

" _ **Ow**_!" Keith growled, recoiling and rubbing the side of his head, half-glaring back at Shiro. " _ **Gods**_ _**damn**_ _**it**_ , Takashi - what was that for?!"

Beyris perked her head up then, the mice chirping cheerfully on her shoulders.

"Oooooh!" she said, interested. "What do _those_ words mean?"

Hunk groaned and slammed the heel of his hand into his forehead as Lance shot Keith a horrified expression, mouthing " _You swore in front the five year old_ _ **again**_?!"

"- _ **fuck**_ -" Keith said in frustration, and then he realized his mistake and covered his face with one hand in delayed regret as Shiro let out a stifled snort of mixed laughter and sympathy.

" _ANYWAY_ -" Pidge bellowed again, in an effort to regain everyone's attention, because it was quickly devolving into absolute chaos once more, "-we're just going to _assume_ that at some point, Haggar and some Galra guy - "

"-I would _not_ want to be that man-" Lance said, and Coran nodded emphatically. Rayzor looked very uncomfortable at the idea, and Keith muttered under his breath, with his hand still over his face, "-yeah - Haggar strikes me as a 'praying mantis' kind of date - _ugh_ -"

Aurelis had done enough reading about Earth animals to get the reference, and he went slightly green as Pidge continued, intent on finishing her hypothesis as quickly as possible before everyone's attention span spiraled completely out of control.

"-had a kid, and that kid was Keith's dad, and then Keith's dad pulled an _awesome_ fuck-this-shit-I'm-out move and - "

Sam snorted in what had to be laughter, and Matt started shaking with suppressed chuckles as Pidge went on, obviously animated and interested in the conclusion, but glad to be almost done with laying it out.

"-and came to Earth, met Keith's mom, and there! You have Keith's ancestry in a nutshell."

Keith lowered his hand from his face and looked at Pidge's enthusiastically-made-but-still-pretty-hard-to-decipher chart.

"…don't you mean spaceship?" he asked, and she grinned at him, her good humor returning now that she'd managed to explain her theory to everyone.

"Yeah, Keith, spaceship works too. Ahaha, oh, I just thought of something - technically - it would have to be _two_ spaceships - because you've got _two_ different alien bloodlines - and you're human, too, which _really_ makes you unique - I mean, you should play the lottery with these odds, Pyro - "

Keith rolled his eyes, but he was smiling all the same as he answered her. "Oh, yeah, me playing the lottery is _such_ a good idea - did you forget who's the designated red shirt on this team - "

Matt blinked at that and looked over at Shiro, who shook his head and replied in a stubborn tone of voice. " **No** , Keith, you are _not_ the designated red shirt - I absolutely _won't_ stand for it - I already have white hair, and I'm not even thirty - so don't you _**fucking**_ _dare_ take that role on- "

Beyris tilted her head up at Shiro quizzically. "Oh! You use that word too?" she asked, and Matt completely lost his ability to contain his laughter at the look on Shiro's face.

"… _shit_ …" Shiro said, and then it was Keith's turn to fall over laughing as Shiro turned to scowl at him.

" _What_?" he growled, but Keith could barely manage a coherent reply.

"-ahaha-oh _gods_ \- Takashi - your face - ahaha - what I wouldn't - give for a camera - right now - _ahaha_ -"

Sam smiled at the sight, and although he still had more questions, he decided they could wait until later.

Any way you looked at it, family was complicated.

But this one seemed the stronger for it.


	7. Author's Note

**YES! THEY FINALLY FORMED VOLTRON AGAIN! :D :D**

Thank you to all who read and reviewed - I love reading your comments and thoughts. :-) Feel free to PM me or leave your comments - I truly LOVE to read them! :D :D :D

A special thank you to: Avacado at Law, PawPrint05, ZeyneD, and EzraScarlet. Without your awesome feedback and messaging back and forth, I _never_ would have been so motivated to write all these stories. :-) Thanks, guys! :-)

I may add more stories to this series, but for now, I'm probably going to take a bit of a break. But don't worry - I intend to continue writing and posting, even if will be a bit more infrequent. I may even post some older stories I wrote for Harry Potter ages and ages ago - but this has been a wonderful experience. :-)

I'm more active on the website 'Archive of Our Own' under the same username, so come and check me out over there if you like!

Also, I'm on Tumblr! Same name, same game - I geek out over VLD, and it's tons of fun. :-)


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